Friday, July 20, 2012

FFWD Salmon with Basil Tapenade

Salmon with Basil Tapenade

Happy Friday everyone!! Today the Doristas are making Salmon with Basil Tapenade. I happen to love salmon. It is my very favorite fish, so this was a perfect choice for me. However, salmon is not one of my husbands favorites and, stuffing it with olive tapenade was definitely not going to happen for him! No problem. I decided to make one for me the Dorie way, and just grill his without any accoutrements. That’s the way he likes it…uh huh uh huh!!
As I started this recipe I was thinking, what a waste of a good piece of salmon! I persevered, and slit my fish as instructed. After all, Dorie seldom lets us down! I purchased a jar of tapenade, that was made with kalamata olives, and that’s what I used. I added the lemon zest, lemon juice, basil and some rosemary; then stuffed my fish with a spoon instead of the plastic bag. After all, it was only one piece of fish…the spoon worked just fine. As everyone in the continental US knows, we’ve been in the midst of a heatwave. There was no way I was turning my oven on to 450°. I decided to grill my fish using Dories method. I heated a piece of foil, coated with olive oil over direct heat. I then added the salmon and browned each side. Finally I turned off a burner and let it cook for a few minutes longer…perfect! To my surprise, I really enjoyed this dish. I would have really enjoyed making it for someone who might appreciate the wonderful flavors of the olives. Someone to ooh and aah over it with me! I’ll have to give this one a try the next time I have some company over! I served this with grilled asparagus and some brown rice…scrumptious! And Bill also enjoyed his plain salmon!!

You can find this recipe in Dorie Greenspans cookbook “Around My French Table”. To see what other Doristas are doing…check it outhere.

Kathy, what a terrific idea to grill the fish and that wonderful asparagus, it looks just perfect for a summer day, even a hot one - we heard a lot about the heat wave in the US and a few days ago there was a striking photo on the front page of the Financial Times of an American farmer looking at his totally "burnt" corn plants - what a terrible heat wave, hope that I will be over very soon!

I hear ya! I too was tempted to skip the tapenade and do something else with my salmon. But I stuck with it and was surprised by how much I liked it. You would think that I would have learned to trust Dorie by now!

I was tempted to do one of each. Tapenade or Old Bay. Hubby agreed to try it, which is scary, and actually loved it.Surprise, surprise. We truly loved this recipe although this was not the time to turn on the oven. Yours look greatand so delicious.

Yes, this is definitely a "grill your way" through the summer time! It does look luscious. I never would have thought to pair the two. But I shall. My salmon in the fridge is too skinny - shall be on the lookout for a nice, fat piece.

It's hot here also but I went the oven route. I don't know why I didn't go for the grill because your salmon just looked delicious. That should have been a no brainer for me. The asparagus and brown rice are perfect sides. Healthy also. I think that my fillet wasn't thick enough. Yours seems about perfect. But, we'll do this again. Right?

Oh my gosh! This recipe looks just fantastic to me. I love salmon but have just been cooking it the same way for ages. I think your use of the tapenade is inspired. I can't wait to try this. My husband would love it too, I am sure!

Kathy-I love, love this unusual basil tapenade for the salmon fillet, with the asparagus, and the delicious rice.You did a beautiful job with it...totally craving this amazing and light Mediterranean dish!